Air Canada Tops On S&p/tsx Ahead Of Traffic Data

shutdown hits energy, boosts gold Financials Wed Oct 2, 2013 5:16pm EDT * TSX falls 8.44 points, or 0.07 percent, to 12,839 * Five of 10 main index sectors decline * Canadian Natural has biggest negative influence on market By John Tilak TORONTO, Oct 2 (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index was little changed on Wednesday as a U.S. government shutdown hit the energy and financial sectors, but boosted the bullion price and gold-mining stocks. A day after The Democratic-led U.S. Senate voted to kill Republicans’ latest attempts to modify an emergency government funding bill, hopes the debt crisis would be resolved soon began to dwindle. The uncertainty spurred a jump in gold, which is seen as a safe-haven asset, as investors placed bets on the commodity. Gold stocks gained as a result. “The market continues to say: ‘This is a temporary blip, don’t get too distracted by it, but drive on, ‘” said Robert McWhirter, president and portfolio manager at Selective Asset Management Inc. Investors will start to panic only if the shutdown extends beyond a few weeks, he added. The Toronto Stock Exchange’s S&P/TSX composite index closed down 8.44 points, or 0.07 percent, at 12,839. Five of the 10 main sectors on the index were in the red. The financial group fell 0.4 percent. Royal Bank of Canada , the country’s biggest lender, dropped 0.5 percent to C$66.35. Toronto Dominion Bank gave back 0.3 percent to C$92.04. Energy shares shed 0.8 percent, with Canadian Natural Resources Ltd falling 1.8 percent to C$32.23 and having the biggest negative influence on the market. Suncor Energy Inc lost almost 1 percent to C$36.81.

Air Canada (AC/A) rose 4.3 percent to C$3.90 at the close in Toronto today, the highest since Nov. 7, 2008, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Montreal-based carriers rally since August has pushed it to the top of the Standard & Poors/TSX Composite Index, ahead of second place Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc., which has gained 91 percent this year. August numbers were very, very strong and theres an expectation that September will also be strong, Cameron Doerksen , an analyst with National Bank Financial, said today in an interview. The airline usually reports traffic data in the first week of the month. Recent financings by Air Canada have lowered interest expenses and strong second-quarter financial results may be repeated in the third quarter, Doerksen said. Air Canada shares have also gained since being added to the benchmark index on Sept. 20. A message left with Peter Fitzpatrick , spokesman for the airline, wasnt immediately returned. Air Canada has had a great move, Chris Damas, an analyst at BCMI Research in Barrie, Ontario, said in a note. However, Id be selling into the strength today because we havent seen the September traffic numbers. To contact the reporters on this story: Doug Alexander in Toronto at dalexander3@bloomberg.net ; Caroline Chen in New York at cchen509@bloomberg.net To contact the editors responsible for this story: David Scheer at dscheer@bloomberg.net ; David Scanlan at dscanlan@bloomberg.net More News:

Canada’s Medical Marijuana System Overhaul Starts Tuesday

“When I was a kid, I inhaled often,” he once told magazine editors, according to The New York Times. “That was the point.” Steve Jobs Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ use of LSD in his younger days is well-documented. He once called the experience “one of the most important things in my life.” His use of the drug was even noted in an FBI background check, according to Wired. Bill Clinton President Bill Clinton famously admitted to trying marijuana while completing his Rhodes scholarship at Oxford. “When I was in England I experimented with marijuana a time or two, and I didnt like it,” The New York Times reported in 1992. “I didnt inhale it, and never tried it again. Richard Branson Virgin Group chairman and founder Richard Branson is an outspoken advocate of marijuana legilization, once writing an op-ed for CNN that called for an end to the war on drugs. He reportedly asked President Obama during a White House visit if he could “have a spliff” in 2012. “They didn’t have any,” he added. Michael Bloomberg New York City Mayor and Bloomberg L.P. founder Michael Bloomberg found himself in hot water when he admitted to smoking marijuana back in 2002, The New York Times reports. When asked by a reporter if he had ever tried pot, he responded: “You bet I did.

Floro names Canada roster for Socceroos game against former manager Holger Osieck

Australia will play France in Paris on Oct. 11 before meeting Canada. Cahill will equal Peter Wilsons record of 60 matches as Socceroos captain if he skippers the team against both France and Canada. Osieck says the Canada game will offer some new players a chance to shine. “If they do well, they have the opportunity to stay. And if they don’t do well, I will look for other people,” he said in an interview on the Football Federation Australia website. The Australians were thrashed 6-0 last month in Brazil in their last outing. “What we learned definitely is that we still have a long way to go” said Osieck. “We played a top-class opponent, probably one of the best teams in the world, on their home soil and at that stage our team was not ready.” Floro’s 21-man roster for the Australia game features seven MLS players including four from Toronto FC: defenders Ashtone Morgan and Doneil Henry and midfielders Kyle Bekker and Jonathan Osorio. Midfielder-forward Russell Teibert comes from the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Australia game falls in FIFA’s international match window Nov.